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How can I take advantage of emerging trends and fads?

“Weak signals” are the equivalent of a canary in a coal mine. They are the unspoken needs and wants of your customers, and they are also the arrows pointing to what your customers are going to need and want in the future, even if they themselves don’t know it yet. If you pay attention to […]

Being Open To Ideas From Unexpected Places

The Killer Questions are used in the Ideation phase of FIRE. The point of the Killer Questions is to keep you focused on a specific facet of your organization, your customer, your product, or your operations, but at the same time keep your search for ideas expansive within that area. The Killer Questions will help […]

How HP Missed Out On The Apple 1

I have a very simple reason for being passionate about pushing back (fight) against corporate antibodies. Nearly all great ideas require nerve, vision, and guts to get in motion. The corporate antibody is the first of many hurdles that you’ll need to push your idea past. If you can’t develop the skills to fight for […]

I work in the innovation and technology sector. Many of my coworkers are brilliant individuals, some bordering on genius. Yet many of these men and women have almost no ability to navigate the hurdles between having an idea and getting others to support it. I’m amazed at how few people have the skill to pitch […]

Using A 4 Step Framework To Improve Innovation Impact

The main challenges that all organizations face are what I call the innovation gap and the innovation delay. The innovation gap is the difference between the need for really great ideas and the actual supply of them. The innovation delay refers to how long it takes you to go from selecting an idea for execution to […]

How will you identify and locate customers in five years? Every hot trend reaches a point I like to call the “Uncle Larry moment.” You know what I mean. It’s the juncture where one of your older relatives announces he’s taken up something that had seemed cutting edge, futuristic, and exciting up till that second. Facebook […]

Narrowing Your Search Improves The Quality Of The Ideas

The first stage of FIRE, Focus, is about doing a thorough but organized search, so you don’t inadvertently ignore a critical area of discovery. Successful innovation is the translation of better ideas into something, such as a product, that is real. If you are focused in your approach, you will be able to decide if […]

To uncover the assumptions that could be blocking you from seeing the challenges and opportunities, here are two questions that are designed to help you discover the rules and assumptions under which your organization and industry operates. I want you to use them to start unraveling the assumptions you have about your business, your industry, and your […]

Your creative ability to create new ideas

I firmly believe that we are in the early stages of a new economy, one where the most valuable talent you can bring to the table is being an “idea person.” Knowledge is quickly becoming a commodity (think of the thousands of highly capable educational institutions springing up in India, China, and other areas of […]

How Did They Come About?

I started writing the Killer Questions when I was in my short-lived “retirement” early in 2001. As I relaxed in the Virginian countryside, my mind started to flash back to various experiences I’d had during my working life. Over the course of the preceding twenty years I’d seen dozens of highly innovative products and ideas […]

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In Beyond The Obvious, you discover how to get back to asking the right questions – ones that lead to radical breakthrough innovation. Full of real-world examples, this book will change the way you operate, innovate, and create.

These questions will re-frame the way you see your products, your customers and and your organization. Whether you’re a company of thousands or a lean startup. Beyond The Obvious will give you the skills to create game-changing innovations.

I'm an award winning innovator of products and technologies that are used each day by 100’s of millions of consumers and businesses worldwide. Most recently I served as Chief Technology Officer for Hewlett-Packard (HP).

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Quotes

I've always believed that asking the right questions is the essence of design. Phil McKinney proves that point with this wonderful set of killer questions that will jump-start — or greatly enhance —your innovation efforts.
B. Joseph Pine II, co-author of The Experience Economy and Infinite Possibility

In Beyond The Obvious, you discover how to get back to asking the right questions – ones that lead to radical breakthrough innovation. Full of real-world examples, this book will change the way you operate, innovate, and create. More about the book ...

About Me ..

I'm an award winning innovator of products and technologies that are used each day by 100’s of millions of consumers and businesses worldwide. Most recently I served as Chief Technology Officer for Hewlett-Packard (HP).More about me ...